Jul 17, 2015

^crrrrickets

 

Jul 17, 2015

JJ is a freak athlete. can't say much other than that.

 

Jul 17, 2015

He should probably just stick to that tho

 

Jul 18, 2015

Bro, that's fine, but you're putting everything into offense and NO defense.

Congrats, you're now the running version of the Colts.

I'll give you this, at least you seemed to draft well on defense.

It would've been a MUCH better situation to franchise Dez the next 2 seasons, and continued to bring in better talent on defense.

No matter how you cut it, your salary cap hit for 3 of the 5 years is over 16 million for a receiver... That's insane to me, especially for a team with an offensive system already in place.

I remember when Moss got signed to a 3 year deal in 2008, and the cap hit, I believe, was around 9 million, and I thought it was f---ing INSANE to give him. And Moss just set the record with TD catches in a season, the Pats went 18-1, and they set a ton of records.

The next 3 seasons? Pats didn't make the playoffs (no defense), got dominated by the Ravens (no defense), and Moss was shipped out to Minnesota.

They should've paid Asante Samuel instead of keeping Moss. Julius Peppers was a free agent at this time, and Pats didn't have cap space to go get him... They had ZERO pass rush those seasons too.

Having an elite receiver is fun, I get it. It's a bonus. But when you already have a system in place, and you sign him to a big contract, it cripples you down the road.

 

Jul 18, 2015

Franchising Dez the next 3 seasons would have ate up more cap space than signing him long term now. Regardless, what defensive player for the Cowboys is going to demand so much cap space within the next 3 years? Lee is already locked up, Hardy I honestly don't expect to stay after this year, especially if he plays to his full potential. If the Cowboys have shown anything it's that they're reluctant to throw a ton of money at big name free agents, they rather build through the draft. They can continue to do that now even with Dez signed long term. The Colts comparison is off base, Cowboys defense isn't that bad anymore. That comparison would have been accurate 2-3 years ago but not anymore.

 

Jul 18, 2015

What, because of one season? lol

Look, I THINK Dallas has a good shot of being Super Bowl contenders, but I think you're jumping the gun. There are A LOT of questions surrounding this team.

The defense was improved from a great running attack. I'm sure that they'll continue this trend, but you guys are not going to be in the Super Bowl conversation without a better defense.

Hardy is the only proven player on your defense. Lee is always hurt. The draft choices SEEM like solid picks, but they might not be too.

I don't question Dez's talent. However, I question his importance to this team. I like how the deal is structured for the first 2 seasons, so you're right... If they franchised him for TWO seasons then it would've been a bigger cap hit. So you're right on that. I wouldn't franchise him for more than 2 seasons though, personally.

However, the last 3 years of the contract takes up over 16 million in cap space, for a receiver.

If we were talking about a team like the Browns? I would be ALL FOR signing Dez to a big contract. They have no quarterback, a great defense, and a shaky line... Having Dez Bryant would greatly improve that team.

Dallas has a top 10 QB, the best offensive line in football, and a top tier tight end too. Dez is a BONUS to that offense, but he's NOT a necessity.

Put it this way, I'll make it pretty simple here....

16.5 million cap hit... Let's say you could use that on a big time defensive playmaker INSTEAD of Dez, while keeping your offensive line... Would you do it?

Actually, how about TWO defensive players, both for 8 mill each...

For example (not to be taken LITERALLY, just an example)

Eric Berry becomes a free agent in 2016... His cap hit is 8 million a year

Aldon Smith, becomes a free agent in 2016... Cap hit 9 million

So now you have Hardy, Smith and Berry on defense, the offensive line in tact, and no Dez.

 

Jul 18, 2015

This simply isn't realistic lol. Even without Dez's cap hit Hardy, Smith & Berry on the Cowboys wouldn't be able work out financially especially if Berry, Smith & Hardy all play up to their potential their contract year. The market for a premiere pass rusher right now is crazy, Houston in KC just signed a tremendous contract. Both Hardy & Smith would likely want something close to that. Safety market isn't crazy but Berry is a really good player so he wouldn't come for cheap either. Like I said, I'd much rather continue to build through the draft rather than throw a ton of money at free agents. We tried that game before & it didn't work & also put us in a terrible cap situation.

As for Dez's importance, I mean he's Romo's go to target in the redzone, really our primary deep threat & he keeps defenses honest. Defenses can't just stack the box against us or just leave a corner on an island with him. Defenses really have to scheme against him & that opens up opportunities for other players like Williams, Beasly, Witten, etc.

 

Jul 18, 2015

if they have no quarterback, then dez bryant WOULD NOT greatly improve that team because dez obviously can't throw the ball to himself LOL

man fitz..... first you think the cowboys don't need a guy who is UNDOUBTEDLY one of their best players (dez bryant) and now THIS?

WOWOWOWOWOW

 

Jul 18, 2015

^woof

 

Jul 20, 2015

I hate talking football with @TimmyT, because he really doesn't understand the game at all.

Ugh... DALLAS doesn't NEED Dez. They would be a good offense without him. They have a top 10 QB, a top 10 tight end, and an ELITE O-Line.... They had Dez for 4 years and made the playoffs ONCE.

Browns? NO ONE... So yes Timmy, Dallas doesn't NEED Dez, but Dez would greatly improve the s-----y Browns offense. ... f---ing Christ, are you this dense?

I knew I shouldn't have dropped any names, because I knew it'd be taken literally lol.

The point being, I would happily trade off Dez for a playmaker on defense. I'd GLADLY let Dez go, and sign someone LIKE Berry or Smith INSTEAD. You know why I know this feeling? Because I said the same s--- about Moss in 2008... And his contract was WAY less.... And no offense to Dez, but he's no Randy Moss, especially after the 2007 season lol. I was praying they let Moss go so they could keep Asante. What happened after? Pats defense was awful, specifically the secondary.

And you can keep throwing around "I hope to build through the draft" which is great, in theory, but Dallas hasn't shown that they have the ability to develop any young defensive players. The draft is always a crapshoot.

Hardy was a GREAT signing, and they wouldn't have signed him if they kept Murray, which I said they should get rid of Murray for an impact player on defense.... Same feeling I have for Dez.

It's pretty funny, most people who know football understand that the wide receiver position is not that valuable. I'm shocked that you guys are defending it to all ends.

If Dez cost 9 million, or even 10 million, I'd be OK with it.

16.5 to 17.5 million of a cap hit, for a wide receiver, is way too f---ing much (yes I know his first two years aren't that much.) Those are the type of contracts that s-----y organizations like the Raiders, Lions or the f---ing Jets make.

"WELL DEZ IS OUR DEEP THREAT!"

You don't need a deep threat to be a great offense, f---ing Christ. That's something that ESPN drills into your heads because they LOVE skill set players.

This whole "defenses can't stack the box against us" sounds great as an argument for Dez, but it's simply not accurate when you have an elite offensive line. Also, screens, counter runs and draws can QUICKLY slow down an aggressive defense, much better than a deep threat can.

The real success of any franchise comes from a great defense (mainly the front 7), a great offensive line or a great quarterback. POINT BLANK. Those are the positions that you spend a lot of money on. NOT receivers or running backs.

Dallas has two of those three.

I want you guys to tell me the times an elite wide receiver (meaning a top 3 receiver) won a Super Bowl ring since 95. Let's see.... NOT Moss, TO, Fitzgerald, Steve Smith, Chad Johnson, Tim Brown, Cris Carter, Andre Johnson, Calvin Johnson, Dez Bryant.

I think since 95 (when Rice won with the 49ers), the only ones I can think of is Hines Ward (this is a stretch), Isaac Bruce and Reggie Wayne.

I'll even take it further and ask when elite running backs won a Super Bowl since 1995? Not Alexander, LT, Martin, Sanders, Jones Drew, Foster, McCoy, AP...

Only ones I can think of? Lynch, Bettis, Dillon, Faulk, Davis, Smith.

Stop watching ESPN.

 

Jul 20, 2015

Everyone's an analyst these days lmao

 

Jul 20, 2015

Unlike Timmy, I know what I'm talking about.

 

Jul 20, 2015

Fitz coming in with the knowledge lol

Edit: though I will say there definitely are times when paying the big name WR is worth it like when the Eagles signed T.O.


It didn't work out in the end (what can you do when the other team in the super bowl knows all your plays from recordings


So the jury is still out on Dez.

As for me I hope he falls off and the Cowboys go 0-16

 

Jul 20, 2015

Fitz lost all credibility by claiming that Dez would greatly improve a team (Browns) with no QB. A WR obviously isn't going to greatly improve a team with poor QB play.... and Fitz should know that better than anyone because Moss didn't do much in Oakland and then went on to have some of his BEST years of his career at a Patriot.

 

Jul 20, 2015

@Fitz in a fantasy world, I would without a doubt love to sign numerous star defensive players if that meant releasing Bryant but as I said in my last post, that's not realistic. Who would we be able to sign? If I'm letting go of my biggest offensive weapon & arguably the best player on my football team, I'm going to be looking for someone as impactful as him on the defensive side of the ball. I mean really Fitz, have you seen the Cowboys track record of signing big name free agents? We're still paying the price for signing Brandon Carr to that monster contract several years ago, look how that turned out. That's just one example too, Roy Williams, Packmam Jones, Jay Ratliff, etc. We've played that game before, it didn't work.

Now obviously the Cowboys would still have a good offense without Bryant (I never said they wouldn't), the same way the Pats would still have a good offense without Gronk but who wants to willingly lose their biggest offensive weapon especially when he's willing to resign to a modest contract? Dez could have sat there & said no, I want the 100 mill/16 mill a year contract that CJ got. He didn't though, he happily took the 70mil/14 mill a year contract. I mean, this isn't a 30+ year old Rany Moss we're talking about here, this is a 26 year old star who may have not even hit his potential yet. Not to mention, we let Dez go, who's our #1 receiver? Terrance Williams? Sure he's shown flashes but he dissapeared for a vast majority of the 2nd half of the season until we got to the playoffs last year. Who's going to be our #2, Devin Street? He caught 1 pass last season. With these two youngsters starting, teams would be a lot more willing to play man on man & be more dedicated to stopping our run game. This isn't something ESPN fed me (I don't even watch ESPN) this is just common sense football.

Also, the Hardy signing wasn't a trade off from letting Murray walk. Cowboys could have signed Dez & Murray, restructured Romo & Smith's contract & still signed Hardy to the exact same deal. Warranted our cap would look like h--- but we could have done that. It wasn't because we let Murray walk that we were able to sign Hardy, we got a majority of our cap space from restructuring contracts which we can do (& likely will do at least once) to Dez's contract at any time.

Fitz, it just seems like you're trying to fish for something that's bad about this deal when there really isn't. No WR the quality of Dez is going to go for 9 or 10 mill a year, the NFL's cap limit has risen in the past 5 years & is continuing to rise on a yearly basis & as it rises, players become more expensive, that just the economics of football. The bigger cap hits in the later half of Dez's contract you keep pointing out likely won't stand because as I said, his contract will likely get restructured just like the Cowboys do with Romo, Smith, Witten etc. I don't buy your whole "oh if you let Dez walk, you can sign numerous impact defensive players" theory because you're being vague & not stating specifically who. Cowboys successfully rebuilt their O Line through the draft which has sky rocketed their offense. Quality D Linemen aren't as hard to come by as O Linemen so I expect us to do the same with the defense which we've already had some success doing. Sean Lee, Bruce Carter, Tyrone Crawford, J.J. Wilcox etc.

 

Jul 20, 2015

52 days pigskin fans

 

Jul 20, 2015

The Pylon is the show I'm doing on youtube that I just started this summer for practice being on camera and video editing (I'm a broadcast major). This is the latest show I put up:



Video was kind of rushed because of work but the main points still stand and I'd be happy discussing this further. You guys enjoy and let me know your opinions on the situation of Russell Wilson's contract status.

 

Jul 20, 2015

I agree & disagree. Should Russel Wilson be the highest paid QB in the NFL? No. Is he a game manager? No. That's a harsh label to give Russel Wilson who's made a lot of big plays in the post season to get the Seahawks to back to back Super Bowls. Warranted, you're right, he has one of the greatest defenses of all time back him & he plays on a run first offense, the kid makes plays. Seattle hasn't had a very good pass blocking O Line either, he's had to make a lot of plays with his feet make hard throws on the run etc. With all that being said I don't think Wilson is an elite QB or even a great QB yet. He's a good to very good QB with still some learning to do. There's still some questions to be answered, can he consistently & efficiently pass from the pocket? We've seen him struggle a bit when teams scheme to keep him in the pocket (Cowboys game, Rams game & Packers game last season). Can he handle a bigger load of the offense which eventually, he'll have too. Interested to see how Seattle goes about this because it seems to me that they understand, if they want to keep this team together, they're going to have to negotiate Wilson's contract down.

 

Jul 21, 2015

Yeah I knew the most questionable point made was the game manager one but let me elaborate.

My definition of a game manager is a QB who is not asked (or expected) to do a whole lot within the offense. They do not have a full command of the offense to the point where it's evident and the team does everything in it's power to make sure that the game DOESN'T lie solely on the QB's shoulders. They do not want to get into a shootout with another team because they see it as a danger zone.

We have yet to see if Russell Wilson can actually carry the offense by himself and I don't think he can because as you mentioned, if a team is willing to play disciplined defense against him and keep him in the pocket, he will look very ordinary. In a way he reminds me of a more athletic Alex Smith. His numbers certainly reflect it (low to mid-range TD totals and passing yards with low INT numbers). More often than not, he's going to make good decisions and be very efficient, but he is not going to wow you and blow you away with his arm talent or smarts.

Until he proves he can play within the pocket consistently, then the answer is no, I do not think he is able to handle a bigger load. I know the play is ridiculed time and time again but look what happened when the decided to put the game on Russell Wilson's arm in the Superbowl. They got snake bit. Yes, it was a great defensive play but it still shows that the Seahawks identity is not in Russell Wilson. It still lies with Marshawn Lynch as the driving force. h---, they would not have even BEEN at the 2 yard line if not for a lucky tip drill catch by Jermaine Kearse.....(pretty sure it was Kearse; I could be wrong but the point still stands)

 

Jul 24, 2015

lol ODB

Spoiler: NSFW ODB